CLASP's Charting Progress for Babies in Child Careproject links research to policy ideas and examples that support the healthy growth and development of infants and toddlers in child care settings. The project provides resources to help states make the best decisions for infants and toddlers in child care.

The foundation of the project is a policy framework comprised of four key principles describing what babies and toddlers in child care need and 15 recommendations for states to move forward.

A Tool Using Data to Inform a State Early Childhood Agenda

This tool is intended for state advocates and policymakers to use as they work to develop a state early childhood agenda. It includes a series of key questions to understand the context and conditions of young children, birth to six, in the state. Where possible, we also include infant/toddler specific questions. Questions include data on demographics and program participation (such as health and nutrition programs), as well as the details of child care and early education settings in the state.

Where possible, links to online data sources are provided, including both original sources and organizations that have analyzed multiple datasets. By following these links, groups can find data specific to their state to populate the tool. Once compiled, these data could be analyzed to identify any trends, areas of need for policy change, and opportunities to support the case for increased investment.

Users can download and save a copy of this tool, open the tool in Microsoft Word, then fill in their state's data. National figures are included where possible, which can provide context of how infants and toddlers are faring on key indicators.

The full version of the data tool contains five sections, which can be individually downloaded using the links below: